Measure Twice, Cut Once, Part 3: Developing Performance Metrics to Monitor Pre-Employment Transition Services
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Measure Twice, Cut Once, Part 3: Developing Performance Metrics to Monitor Pre-Employment Transition Services

Published: Feb 18, 2019
Publisher: Princeton, NJ: Mathematica Policy Research
Human Services Disability Transition to Adulthood Data Analytics Advisory Services Technical Assistance
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Key Findings
  • The performance metrics on quantity are designed to capture details on the volume of pre-employment transition services that a VR agency provides. These metrics reflect two different, but complementary, perspectives on quantity: (1) the number of services provided, which may be a metric that staff and providers already use to process provider payments, and (2) the number of unique students with disabilities who received these services.
  • The performance metrics on cost reflect the level of funding that a VR agency spends on pre-employment transition services. These metrics capture the aggregate cost—the VR agency’s total spending—and the cost per student with a disability.
  • The final set of performance metrics touch on issues of access from two perspectives: (1) geographic area and (2) race and ethnicity. These metrics could be useful for VR agency staff who are interested in “statewideness,” or the potential for all students with disabilities in a state to access these services.
  • The performance metrics presented in this brief, if implemented, would paint a composite picture of a VR agency’s provision of pre-employment transition services. Staff could use these metrics to shed light on the effectiveness of their agency’s efforts to provide transition services. Monitoring quantity, cost, and access could help them assess whether their agency is meeting its goals for these services and whether and how to improve service provision.

This brief describes performance metrics that staff at state vocational rehabilitation (VR) agencies can use to assess their provision of pre-employment transition services. These services are intended to prepare students with disabilities for life after school, but they represent a major change in how VR agencies operate. Given this increased emphasis on pre-employment transition services, staff at VR agencies might be wondering how best to measure these services. This brief identifies six performance metrics that a VR agency could use to assess its provision of pre-employment transition services across three domains: quantity, cost, and access.

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